That Fatal Sneeze1907

One of producer Cecil Hepworth’s most popular short subjects, THAT FATAL SNEEZE is an enduring work of slapstick surrealism. After a codger pranks a young relation with a dab of sneezing powder, the boy ups the ante considerable while the old man sleeps. His sneezes become more and more explosive: windows shatter and the ground shakes before the final sneeze promised by the title. A rare instance in which the shoddy set construction is exploited as as a major asset, THAT FATAL SNEEZE articulates a basic principle of slapstick: it’s always funnier when it’s happening to the other guy.